- FIREHOSE FRIDAY and Dead Puppy … Er, Annual Fundraiser … Update
Hey, everyone …
It’s a FIREHOSE FRIDAY, with 107-ish news stories, opinion pieces, and audio/video links awaiting your attention at our web edition.
As I mentioned yesterday, we’re “web-only” because my wife, Tamara, had carpal tunnel surgery yesterday. It went well and she’s recovering nicely, but things like that take a chunk out of any work day. Thanks for your understanding.
As I also pointed out yesterday, every day that nobody donates to our annual fundraiser, a cute little puppy dies. Thanks to subscribing contributors JF and IH, and to long-time supporter CH (who opined “Nooo! Not the puppies!”) for their contributions totaling $25.50 — they surely saved a few puppies AND brought our annual fundraiser total up to (as of 5am on Friday) $1,083.50!
Short and sweet: Our goal is $5,503. Once we’ve raised $2,751.50, supporter GL will “match funds” to get us to the finish line. So we are $1,668 short.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE FREEDOM MOVEMENT’S DAILY NEWSPAPER!
I think a reasonable “mini-goal” is to hit the halfway point ($1,375.75) by Monday, with weekend contributions totaling at least $292.25. That URL again:
https://news.rationalreview.com/support-rrnd
Thanks for all you do, and please have a happy, healthy, and prosperous Halloween weekend!
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Binance Hack Triggers $1.5 Billion in Crypto Liquidations as Bitcoin Falls
Source: CoinCentral
“Binance reported a security breach affecting about $6.3 billion in assets, and suspended deposits and withdrawals. More than $1.5 billion in leveraged crypto bets were forcibly closed in 24 hours, per CoinGlass. Long positions made up about 84% of the liquidations, and Binance handled nearly half the total. Bitcoin dipped to about $76,460 before recovering toward $78,500, and ether traded near $2,240. Tether and Circle froze a combined $2.4 billion in stablecoins tied to the incident.” (10/30/26)
https://coincentral.com/binance-hack-triggers-1-5-billion-in-crypto-liquidations-as-bitcoin-falls/
- Ukraine: Regime Launches First Test Satellite as It Seeks Starlink Alternatives
Source: Defense Post
“Ukraine’s HIMERA and Denmark’s GomSpace have placed a test satellite into orbit for a planned sovereign communications network, as Kyiv seeks to reduce its reliance on SpaceX’s Starlink amid concerns over its dependence on an external provider for critical communications. Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the Transporter-18 mission on October 1, the OBRIA Nano satellite is undergoing technical tests to inform the design of a constellation intended to provide communications coverage across Ukraine and complement European satellite networks. The next phase will involve localizing satellite and ground-terminal production in Ukraine, developing domestic expertise and expanding manufacturing capabilities.” (10/30/26)
https://thedefensepost.com/2026/10/30/ukraine-satellite-starlink-alternatives/
- US initial jobless claims 194k vs 199k expected
Source: investinglive
“US initial jobless claims came in at 194K versus 199K expected, while continuing claims fell to 1.701 million against expectations of 1.720 million. The previous readings were revised to 195K and 1.722 million, respectively. US Jobless Claims measure the number of people filing for unemployment benefits and provide a timely indicator of labour market conditions. Initial claims track new applications and offer insight into layoffs, while continuing claims measure the number of people still receiving benefits, providing clues about how easily unemployed workers find new jobs. The report points to continued labour market resilience, with both initial and continuing claims coming in below expectations.” (10/29/26)
https://investinglive.com/news/us-initial-jobless-claims-194k-vs-199k-expected/
- Ship sinks off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast after being hit by drones
Source: Killeen Daily Herald
“A Liberian-flagged vessel that was hit by drones off Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast has sunk, the local maritime administration said Thursday. Three maritime drones struck the container ship Contship Jet about 21 nautical miles off the coast of Bulgaria on Wednesday, Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said. It was the fifth drone attack in the NATO country’s exclusive economic zone this month. The Greek-managed container ship was en route from Israel’s port of Haifa to Constanța in Romania. All 18 crew members, 14 Filipinos and four Ukrainians, were rescued by Bulgarian naval and border police vessels and taken to the port city of Varna for medical checks. … Russia has not taken responsibility for the recent attacks, but suspicion has fallen on Moscow.” (10/29/26)
- MN: Feds, state fraud investigators search autism centers
Source: Minnesota Star Tribune
“Federal and state authorities searched the autism service provider Iska, Inc. and several other sites in Minnesota on Thursday morning. An FBI spokesman said Thursday they are working with a handful of agencies on ‘court-authorized investigative activity.’ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, criminal investigators at the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Postal Inspectors are involved in the investigations, the spokesman said. The FBI declined to provide additional details, citing an active investigation. But a spokesman for the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office said their office was involved with searching Iska on Thursday. The St. Louis Park-based business received more than $16.7 million in Medicaid funds between 2018 and 2025, according to state data.” (10/29/26)
- Sabotage PAC that infiltrated Libertarian Party launches new effort to exploit Massie
Source: Independent Political Report
“The [Republican “infiltrated and neuter” operation] Mises Caucus has launched a political organization called the American Liberty Party, with one of the new group’s first objectives being to recruit Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky to run for president in 2028. The effort was launched Tuesday, October 27, by Mises Caucus founder and former chair Michael Heise, who wrote on X that he had spent the past couple of months reaching out to figures within the America First movement about forming a new political group. Heise said the effort is intended to provide flexibility to support ‘legitimately good’ primary candidates while also building an organization that could direct its limited resources toward areas where they would have the greatest impact.” [editor’s note: If Massie is smart — and he seems to be — he’ll avoid these grifters like the plague – TLK] (10/29/26)
- Patrick Stewart, 1940-2026
Source: Reuters
“Patrick Stewart, who rose from poverty in England to become an accomplished Shakespearean stage actor and then achieved global stardom as the erudite Captain Jean-Luc Picard in TV’s ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ and the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier in the ‘X-Men’ movies, has died at the age of 86. Stewart, knighted in 2010 by Queen Elizabeth II for his contributions to drama, died at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his X account.” (10/29/26)
- NY: Judge weighs whether to remove AG James from Cornell rape case
Source: United Press International
“A New York judge was set on Thursday to hear arguments on whether New York Attorney General James should remain as special prosecutor in the case against Cornell University students accused of sexually assaulting a female classmate in 2024. … Lawyers for the men maintain that the attorney general ‘has already publicly prejudged the guilt’ of the seven men accused in the lawsuit, citing comments she made when assigned the post, which came years after a local prosecutor filed no charges in the case.” (10/29/26)
- As Alaska spoiler candidate probe ordered, Dems point to GOP dirty tricks
Source: SFGate
“Alaska’s Republican governor has ordered an investigation in response to President Donald Trump ‘s demand for a criminal probe of whether Democratic Senate nominee Mary Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting a spoiler candidate with the same name as Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan. Political parties often support extra candidates on the ballot to try to pull votes from their rivals. In Ohio’s Senate race, Republicans have been tied to an effort to boost a socialist to votes from Sherrod Brown, the Democratic candidate challenging Sen. Jon Husted. A federal judge rejected a Trump administration request to stop California from processing the ballots of up to 20,000 people over allegations that they are likely noncitizens, warning it would ‘wreak havoc’ on the midterm elections. The ruling comes as more than 3.7 million people have already voted in the state.” (10/29/26)
- EU tells regimes to halt their national social media bans for a year
Source: Politico
“The European Commission is telling capitals across the bloc to pause any national laws that restrict social media access to minors, as Brussels seeks an EU-wide set of rules. But Austria, the first country told to halt its legislation Thursday, lashed out at the order. ‘It is unacceptable for Brussels to block member states from enacting national laws without presenting a completed European solution of its own,’ Austrian State Secretary Alexander Pröll told POLITICO. The Commission and national capitals have been seeking age restrictions for social media over the past year, citing risks to young people’s mental health. But even after the EU proposed a unified law, different countries have continued pursuing different approaches and age limits.” (10/29/26)
- TX: Republican group seeks to block certification of state’s election
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Days before the United States’ pivotal midterm elections, a Texas group affiliated with the Republican Party has asked a federal judge to stop certification of the state’s upcoming election results. In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, the Potter County Republican Party and its chairman, Daniel Rogers, claim potential election interference by artificial intelligence (AI) or ‘malicious actors’ that could compromise the results of next Tuesday’s elections in Texas. The plaintiffs, who are asking for a hand count of every ballot from every precinct in the state before election certification happens, allege voting machines have components inside made by China that would allow them to be manipulated.” (10/29/26)
- Spain: Families hold out hope for loved ones missing after deadly train crash
Source: SFGate
“Families desperately searched for missing loved ones Thursday, more than 24 hours after two high-speed trains collided in central Spain, killing at least 69 and injuring dozens of others. ‘I have my father, and I don’t know where he is. I hope to find him, oh my Lord,’ said César Vicente, an actor who traveled 495 kilometers (307 miles) from his native Seville to Toledo in search of his father. He spent the night with many other families at a religious center converted into a base for those affected by the disaster. Vicente was with his mother and his aunt, all of whom were looking for César Vicente, who was sitting in seat 13A on the RENFE train that struck another operated by the private company Iryo, which had stopped on the tracks.” (10/29/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/families-hold-out-hope-for-loved-ones-missing-22500625.php
- South Korea: Prosecutor seeks death penalty for former president
Source: ABC News
“A South Korean special prosecutor on Thursday demanded the death penalty for ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, ahead of an appeals court verdict on rebellion charges over his brief imposition of martial law in December 2024. The Seoul High Court has yet to set a date for a verdict on Yoon’s appeal of a life sentence handed down in February by the Seoul Central District Court. The court found that he illegally mobilized troops and police to seize the legislature, arrest political opponents and establish unchecked rule for a ‘considerable time.’ Investigators led by Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-suk also appealed the ruling, arguing Yoon deserves the death penalty because his actions posed a grave threat to the country’s democracy. An execution would be unlikely. South Korea has not executed anyone since 1997, effectively maintaining a moratorium on capital punishment following calls for its abolition.” (10/29/26)
- Reports: Hegseth removes top general amid sweeping Pentagon overhaul
Source: United Press International
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has removed a top general from his post, according to reports, the latest exit of a senior military official amid a sweeping overhaul of the Pentagon. Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, director for Strategy, Plans and Policy, J-5, Joint Staff, CNN reported, citing a spokesman for Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine. According to ABC News, citing two sources familiar with the situation, the firing occurred earlier this week, and with his removal, Sylvia has retired.” (10/29/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/10/29/Hegseth-fires-Brett-Sylvia/3321793253301/
- Lagarde to step down as president of European Central Bank
Source: CNBC
“European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde will step down on Feb. 7 next year, she announced Thursday, formally kicking off a succession race that will be shaped by political bargaining and France’s looming fiscal crisis. Lagarde has led the central bank since July 2019, steering its responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and a series of energy price shocks that sent inflation in the European Union above 11% in 2022. She will depart nearly nine months before her term was due to expire in October 2027, while the process to appoint her successor will begin immediately.” (10/29/26)
- MI: Democratic divisions linger in Senate race; will frustration with Trump outweigh them?
Source: SFGate
“With less than a week until Election Day, Democrats remain divided over their nominee in Michigan’s pivotal Senate race. The question now is whether those divisions will outweigh voter frustration with President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Criticism of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has persisted for months, both privately and publicly, since a contentious primary divided voters and party leaders. Rather than focusing solely on uniting the party’s traditional coalition in the aftermath of the primary, El-Sayed has sought to bring new voters — particularly college students and rural residents — into the fold. But the lingering Democratic tensions spilled into public view again Wednesday, when Jason Turkish, the fiance of El-Sayed’s former primary opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens, told The Detroit News that he would vote for Republican Mike Rogers. Hours later, Stevens appeared on CNN to reaffirm that she would be voting for El-Sayed, but urged his campaign to ‘shut out the hate and call it out’.” (10/29/26)
- DoorDash to acquire Instacart for $17 billion, creating delivery giant
Source: NBC News
“Delivery giant DoorDash is buying to-your-door grocery service Instacart for $17 billion, the company announced Thursday. The deal means users will be able to order groceries and items from other retailers via DoorDash and its delivery network. The companies said Instacart customers can now shop at more than 50,000 additional stores on top of the nearly 100,000 stores on the Instacart platform today. DashPass and Instacart+ members will now also pay one membership fee instead of two. DoorDash is expected to keep the Instacart brand and its technology. Until the transaction closes, DoorDash and Instacart will continue to operate as separate and independent companies.” (10/29/26)
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/corporations/doordash-acquire-instacart-17-billion-rcna605907
- North Korea: Regime fires “around a dozen” ballistic missiles amid rising tensions with South Korea
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“North Korea fired ‘around a dozen’ short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast on Thursday, Seoul’s defence ministry said, less than a week after South Korea proposed talks over a growing border row. The launches follow a slew of recent weapons tests by Pyongyang, including a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both of which were said to employ AI technology. … Thursday’s missile flurry comes against the backdrop of growing tensions over a landmine explosion along the heavily fortified border between the two Koreas that saw three South Korean soldiers wounded.” (10/29/26)
- Flávio Bolsonaro calls himself “leader of Brazil” after election loss
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The defeated candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro, has referred to himself as ‘leader of Brazil’ in a letter he published on social media after leaving the country for the United States. Bolsonaro lost to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the run-off on Sunday by a difference of 4.4 million votes, but has not conceded defeat. In the letter, Bolsonaro alleges, without offering evidence, that he was the victim of ‘electoral fraud’ and says that he will lead the opposition from the US. He left Brazil on Tuesday after failing to comply with an order to surrender his passports, a decision which Lula described as ‘a shameful act’. Bolsonaro starts his letter, which he posted on his X account, saying ‘I address the Brazilian people and the international community as the leader of Brazil’.” (10/29/26)
- The Trouble with Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Source: The Bleeding Heart Libertarian
by Matt Zwolinski“Among some young libertarians, especially online and in radical anarcho-capitalist circles, Hoppe is venerated. … Outside the Rothbardian and Austrian circles where he made his reputation, though, Hoppe’s name is largely unknown. Most mainstream political philosophers have never heard of him, and those who have rarely engage with his work. His admirers say that’s because the academy is a left-wing monoculture afraid of him. But there’s a better, simpler explanation. Hoppe’s central philosophical arguments just aren’t very good. In particular, ‘argumentation ethics’ doesn’t come close to justifying libertarian rights. And even if it did, it wouldn’t do anything to justify the politics of exclusion he attaches to them.” (10/29/26)
https://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com/p/the-trouble-with-hans-hermann-hoppe
- Who Put Tariffs in My ($20!) Burrito?
Source: The Daily Economy
by Caleb S Fuller & Scott Burns“From aluminum wrappers to beef, cheese, and tomatoes, Washington has found a way to make every bite more expensive. ‘TACOs’ shouldn’t cost so much.” (10/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/who-put-tariffs-in-my-20-burrito/
- A Democratic Congress Should Make It Its Business to Expose Trump’s Patronage Machine
Source: The UnPopulist
by Robert Tracinski“Democratic candidates spent much of the midterm campaign talking themselves into a false choice over whether to focus on ‘affordability’ or on the abuse of executive power. Yet in its final days, the election has come to center on an issue that combines the two: the spectacular corruption of the Trump administration. Many Democrats are adopting this as a closing message on the campaign trail …. This election’s focus on corruption has been encouraged by a series of late-breaking revelations about the sheer scale and brazenness of the cash grabs by Trump and his appointees.” (10/29/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/a-democratic-congress-should-make
- The Invisible Shackle: How Bureaucracy Stifles the Economy and Constrains Our Freedom
Source: EconLog
by Saray Levy-Carciente“For millions of entrepreneurs, the greatest barrier to generating wealth is no longer market competition but the relentless expansion of regulations and administrative procedures. While governance is ostensibly designed to ensure order, modern bureaucracy has morphed into a formidable ‘invisible shackle.’ Rather than functioning as a neutral tool of oversight, excessive red tape treats a citizen’s inherent right to produce as a conditional concession granted by the state through endless, discretionary hurdles.” (10/29/26)
- Whether Bibi Stays or Goes, the “Special Relationship” Must End
Source: The American Conservative
by Luke Nicastro“Because of what it reveals about Israel’s trajectory, the election presents an opportune moment to reassess the U.S.-Israel relationship. The conditions that led the Israeli government to successfully push for the Iran War, and for all of the other deleterious fruits of the partnership—the military aid (both direct and indirect), the integration of our respective national security establishments, the continued commitment of U.S. resources to a theater increasingly peripheral to our grand strategy, the diplomatic cover for war crimes—are structural in nature. No plausible change from within Israeli society is going to end them.” (10/29/26)
- Bottoms ran Atlanta into the ground; we can’t let her do it to Georgia
Source: Fox News
by Gianno Caldwell“In 2020, Atlanta police investigated 157 homicides, up from 99 the year before. That was the most the city had seen in more than two decades, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The next year was worse. Shootings climbed right along with the killings. Even CNN couldn’t ignore it. It reported that by early July 2020, Atlanta had logged 282 shooting incidents, up 19% from the same point a year earlier, citing Atlanta police data. By June 2021, the number of people shot in the city was up another 38%. More than 200 officers left the Atlanta Police Department in 2020 alone. Then-Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms did not have the backs of the Atlanta police, nor did she have the backs of Atlanta’s most vulnerable citizens who depended on her for their safety. Her tenure as mayor left the city reeling as crime exploded and hundreds were killed. That is a serious dereliction of duty.” (10/29/26)
- Financial Surveillance at the Southern Border is Expanding
Source: Cato Institute
by Nicholas Anthony“The Treasury should stop this heightened surveillance regime, and Congress should reform the laws that makes it possible.” (10/29/260
https://www.cato.org/commentary/financial-surveillance-southern-border-expanding
- No One Has a Plan for American Decline
Source: Foreign Policy
by Nick Danforth“America’s geopolitical power is crumbling, and that shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. Hegemons, after all, rise and fall. Yet nobody in U.S. politics or punditry seems to actually want to talk about the consequences, especially for the American people. When it comes to decline, they either believe it won’t happen or won’t matter—in other words, that America can’t decline or that Americans will be just fine if it does.” (10/29/26)
- You’re Buying American Farmers a LOT of “Election Candy”
Source: The Dispatch
by Scott Lincicome“Instead of reversing the policies hurting the agriculture industry, the president is throwing our tax dollars at the problem.” (10/29/26)
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-markets/farm-subsidies-trump-congress-billions/
- Keep the Case for Free Trade Simple
Sourc: Independent Institute
by Scott A Burns & Caleb S Fuller“Paul Krugman once said: ‘If there were an Economist’s Creed, it would surely contain the affirmations ‘I understand comparative advantage’ and ‘I advocate Free Trade.’’ We agree. Alas, economists have a nasty habit of overcomplicating the virtues of trade when we communicate with the public. That’s why we propose that our fellow economists adopt a new creed when we talk trade with the public: ‘KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.'” (10/29/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/10/29/keep-the-case-for-free-trade-simple/
- The Medical and Ethical Atrocity of “Perioperative Vaccination”
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Clayton J Baker, MD“Whenever I suspect that my beloved profession has finally reached rock bottom in its utter subservience to the vaccine-industrial complex, I stand corrected by the report of some new-world-record, bathyspheric descent into depravity that some new group of physicians has managed to achieve. Independent journalist Jon Fleetwood reports that some of the largest and best-known pediatric hospitals in the United States are vaccinating thousands of children while under anesthesia for surgical procedures.” (10/29/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/the-medical-and-ethical-atrocity-of-perioperative-vaccination/
- The boosts and busts in biodiversity targets
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“For over three decades, the International Convention on Biodiversity has brought together governments and civil society to protect and preserve what the United Nations describes as ‘the living fabric of our planet’. This year’s gathering, taking place in Armenia from Oct. 19 to 30, is a sobering assessment of the mending that’s taken place so far. The 23 targets set at a previous session include extending conservation protections to 30% of the world’s land and water areas, restoring degraded ecosystems, and recovering threatened species – and doing all this in tandem with longtime or Indigenous human inhabitants of those areas. To date, 90% of countries have established biodiversity goals. And ‘implementation is underway across all targets’, according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Technology transfers and scientific cooperation are taking place. Deforestation in the Amazon has fallen. And species such as the Central Asian saiga antelope and California condor have recorded notable comebacks.” (10/28/26)
- 1980s farm crisis surprised farmers. Some see it happening again
Source: USA Today
by Rex Huppke“While there are significant differences between the run-up to the 1980s farm crisis and what’s happening in farming today, understanding the history of that decade is crucial to recognizing the seriousness of the moment we’re in. I know the state of agriculture won’t be high on most people’s lists of most important issues, but the families who farm the land in America are a vital-if-nearly-invisible part of our everyday lives.” (10/29/26)
- Dark-Side Powers versus Conscience and Morality
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“When someone becomes an employee of the U.S. government, and especially the all-powerful national-security state branch of the government, he is expected to leave his conscience and sense of right and wrong behind. While he ostensibly takes an oath to support and defend the Constitution, that’s actually a sham. As a practical matter, every federal official is expected to loyally and patriotically support the actions of the U.S. government, including the dark-side actions of the U.S. national-security establishment — i.e., the Pentagon, the CIA, and the NSA.” (10/29/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/10/29/dark-side-powers-versus-conscience-and-morality/
- The Islamic Republic only survives on war; don’t give Tehran what it craves
Source: New York Post
by Miad Maleki“‘It’s getting to be decision time’ on Iran, President Donald Trump said Sunday. ‘Do I finish it off, which would be very easy to do, or do I make a deal?’ he mused in a Fox News interview. On Tuesday, at a get-out-the-vote rally in Lubbock, Texas, he put the choice on a clock. ‘You’ll see Iran in a couple of weeks,’ he said — the window that opens after Election Day, Nov. 3. US and Israeli military planners have reportedly mapped out a short post-midterm campaign against Iran’s nuclear, missile and energy sites; some officials think three days of strikes could force concessions. I spent eight years at the Treasury Department tightening sanctions on this regime — and I want it gone. Which is why the next round of bombs should stay in the racks.” (10/28/26)
- Paying for primary care: How Congress can fix a national shortage
Source: Niskanen Center
by Caitlin Rowley Gallamore & Marko Gajic“More than 92 millions Americans live in a federally designated primary care shortage area. That’s about 1 in 4 patients whose demand for primary care exceeds the supply of physicians that can provide it. And this shortage will only get worse without significant changes to how primary care providers (PCPs) are paid. Thankfully, Congress now has a chance to address the poor payment incentives at the root of the primary care shortage.” (10/29/26)
https://www.niskanencenter.org/paying-for-primary-care-how-congress-can-fix-a-national-shortage/
- Giving Voters What They Deserve
Source: Liberal Currents
by Adam Gurri“It’s weeks like this where I can’t help but think of the overquoted H. L. Mencken line that ‘democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.’ In America, we are nearly two years into getting ‘good and hard’ what voters chose in 2024 and are quite sick of it. Israel’s version of this predicament is almost comical. You’ll find no stronger defender than me of party-list proproportional representation—the system wherein the percent of seats in the legislature that a party gets is, with some technical caveats, one-to-one with the percent of votes they receive in the public election—but in Israel that system does frequently result in a failure to form a governing majority.” (10/29/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/giving-voters-what-they-deserve/
- This November, Vote Like Your Well-Being Depends on It
Source: OtherWords
by Daniel Mcvey“It’s really cold living in a home with no heat or running water in December. That was a hard lesson I had to learn as a kid when my family was struggling. Now, as a healthcare case manager, I’ve seen firsthand even more unnecessary human suffering caused by bad policy choices. We need change, and voting is part of how we make it. I grew up in a large family. My dad was a convoy driver during the Iraq War and was gone from us for nearly a decade. During that time, we struggled to afford the medication to manage my sister’s Type 1 diabetes. My mother stayed home so often to care for her that she lost her job. Even as prices rise, they’ve also chosen to take help away from those who need it the most—and give it to those who need it least.” (10/29/26)
https://otherwords.org/are-you-hurting-in-this-economy-you-need-to-vote/
- Democracy’s False Dawn
Source: Law & Liberty
by Gianna Englert“The story Europeans like to tell themselves may not be entirely true.” (10/29/26)
- The Power of Trump Compels Them
Source: The Bulwark
by Jonathan V Last“Someday the Lord will call Donald Trump home. At that happy hour, as Trump is welcomed to eternal life, there will be a great deal of uncertainty in American politics. What will happen next? My thesis is that there will be no return to normal because Trump has fundamentally changed the character and desires of a large group of American voters. This is the sort of idea that’s hard to quantify because you can’t come at it head-on. You have to look for oblique angles. The Public Religion Research Institute just gave us some interesting data points. I want to talk about them, and the Gospel, and the future of American politics. And empathy.” (10/29/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/the-power-of-trump-compels-them-christian-nationalism-empathy
- How a Jo Jorgensen Presidency Would Have Prevented Our Current Crises
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“How a Jo Jorgensen Presidency Would Have Prevented Our Current Crises.” (10/29/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/how-a-jo-jorgensen-presidency-would
- The $3.44 Walmart Pillow vs. Local Monopoly Power
Source: Bet On It
by Bryan Caplan“I need six pillows to sleep comfortably. Two under my side, two between my legs, one against my back, and one to hug. That’s too many pillows to pack …. Fortunately, Walmart doesn’t just make obtaining pillows convenient throughout the United States. It makes it dirt cheap. Every Walmart I’ve visited has the same $3.44 pillow for sale, so I routinely buy them wherever I go, and just abandon them when I leave. I’ve done this over and over, yet only on my last trip to Wyoming did I reach a profound economic epiphany. I have bought Walmart pillows in dense urban areas. I have bought them in suburbs. I have bought them in rural areas. And the price is always $3.44… plus tax. … Which has a shocking implication: The degree of local competition has absolutely no effect on the price of the pillow.” (10/29/26)
https://www.betonit.ai/p/the-344-walmart-pillow-vs-local-monopoly
- Why is Egypt jumping into Houthi war? First, follow the money.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Elfadil Ibrahim“Cairo buys an increasing amount of fuel from abroad, owes billions to foreign lenders, and depends on open Red Sea-Suez traffic, among other pressures.” (10/29/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/egypt-saudi-arabia-houthis/
- AIPAC Isn’t Retreating. Here’s How It’s Already Shaping the Next Congress.
Source: The Intercept
by Akela Lacy“A new project by The Intercept reveals the hundreds of candidates still taking the pro-Israel lobby’s cash, and how AIPAC is obscuring its spending.” (10/29/26)
https://theintercept.com/2026/10/29/aipac-israel-midterms-spending-elections-congress/
- Midterms Either Most or Least Important Elections Ever
Source: Town Hall
by Kurt Schlichter“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the midterms, and you don’t know what’s going to happen in the midterms, and the boosters and pundits certainly don’t know what’s going to happen in the midterms. But something is going to happen in the midterms. And what happens in the midterms will make them either the most important midterms in the history of ever, or the least important. It all depends. Which means you shouldn’t take a chance, and you should get out there and vote all red just in case.” (10/29/26)
- There is no opposition leader. The American people are standing against Trump
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jackie Calmes“Obama and Clinton, for their parts, have waited until midterm elections voting has begun and the outcome — a potential blue wave — seems clear. The likelihood of an electoral repudiation of Trump and his party is thanks not to their efforts, but to the voters themselves. Organically, a leaderless protest movement of sorts has taken shape, uniting Democrats, independents and a good number of repelled Republicans. Trump calls MAGA a movement, and it is. But he’s the unwitting organizer of this countermovement as well, thanks to his sorry record of self-aggrandizement, cruelty and a needless war that broke both his no-wars campaign promise and the one about bringing down Americans’ cost of living. (Moody’s Analytics recently reported that the Iran war has cost the average U.S. family more than $2,000.)” (10/29/260
- The Two Faces of Gadi Eisenkot, Who Could Be Israel’s PM
Source: Antiwar.com
by Dan Steinbock“In international media, PM Netanyahu’s adversary Gadi Eizenkot has been portrayed as a centrist voice. That’s part of his track-record. But he is also the architect of the Obliteration Doctrine that decimated Gaza.” (10/29/26)
- AI Isn’t Just Extracting More Fossil Fuels—It’s Unlocking Renewable Energy Too
Source: Reason
by Jeff Luse“A New Mexico geothermal project used AI to reduce surface infrastructure costs by 75 percent and speed up drilling by 35 percent.” (for publication 11/26)
https://reason.com/2026/10/29/ai-is-unlocking-abundant-energy/
- The Quad and the Squad: Washington’s Anti-China Coalitions
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen“[E]ven as Washington seeks to navigate its fraught but improving relationship with Beijing, these meetings represent a strengthening of its network of partnerships intended to counter Chinese influence. While the Quad and Squad are two distinct components of that effort, there is little doubt that Washington’s expanding regional security commitments will do nothing to make Americans safer and will rather serve only to draw them further into a potentially catastrophic great-power confrontation.” (10/29/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-quad-and-the-squad-washingtons-anti-china-coalitions/
- China’s Belt and Road hasn’t lived up to Xi’s promise
Source: Asia Times
by Bertil Lintner“Designed to dwarf even the Marshall Plan, the American program to rebuild Europe after World War II, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was first unveiled by President Xi Jinping in a 2013 speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. Beijing later pledged to invest US$1 trillion, and by some estimates as much as $8 trillion, in roads, railways, bridges, ports and other infrastructure projects around the world, with an emphasis on sparking economic development in the underfinanced Global South. Originally called One Belt, One Road, the BRI was meant to usher in what Xi described in his speech as a more just world order. But on many counts, the program has not measured up to its original, world-changing ambition.” (10/29/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/10/chinas-belt-and-road-hasnt-lived-up-to-xis-promise/
- Death Was Never a Joke
Source: Law & Liberty
by Itxu Diaz“Macabre Halloween celebrations risk trivializing man’s ultimate fate.” (10/29/26)
- Mike Rogers’s Wife Runs a Consultancy That Sells Government Access
Source: The American Prospect
by Zachary Groz“Earlier this month, former Republican congressman and Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers appeared on the campaign trail with his wife Kristi, handing out $10 gift cards at a Detroit gas station. ‘We’re all struggling with incredibly high gas prices’, Ms. Rogers said in a video taken from the scene. ‘And Mike knows this[‘. What voters would not have known from that video is that Ms. Rogers runs a Beltway trade group representing energy traders, mining companies, and manufacturers in their efforts to influence federal officials and federal policy. According to ethics watchdogs, Ms. Rogers’s position, which has not been previously reported, raises the potential for serious conflicts of interest should her husband win his hotly contested Senate race against Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.” (10/29/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/10/29/mike-rogerss-wife-runs-a-consultancy-that-sells-government-access/
- Fifty Years Ago, Milton Friedman Upended Economic “Expertise”
Source: The Daily Economy
by John Phelan“Friedman challenged the idea that governments could spend their way to prosperity. Fifty years after receiving the Nobel Prize, his most enduring lessons remain crucial — and largely ignored.” (10/29/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/fifty-years-ago-milton-friedman-upended-economic-expertise/
- The marginalized and the rioters
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“The recent rioting in France, and in the past in the UK, set me wondering ifrioting and looting are more likely to be done by groups that feel themselves to be marginalized. There is an important qualification. Feeling marginalized raises the odds of joining a riot. It does not explain who loots, or when. The current European wave makes the point. On October 17th some 550,000 people marched in France against the cost of living by the Interior Ministry’s count, and the processions were mostly calm. The violence and looting broke out on the margins, in cities from Limoges and Lyon to Marseille and Paris.” (10/29/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-marginalized-and-the-rioters
- Will the AI Investment Splurge Last?
Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman“The boom in AI-related spending is already enormous relative to the size of the U.S. economy and is widely expected to grow even bigger. Indeed, a widely cited projection by Stijn Van Nieuwerburgh of the Columbia Business School concludes, based on announced plans by major players in the industry, that this will be the biggest investment boom in U.S. history, measured as a percentage of GDP …. Well, I’m going to make a prediction: This will not happen. Instead, the splurge on AI will run into two walls that will force either postponement or cancellation of many of those announced projects.” (10/29/26)
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/will-the-ai-investment-splurge-last
- The Political Orphanage, 10/29/26
Source: The Political Orphanage
“Why Did We Close the Asylums?” (10/29/26)
https://politicalorphanage.libsyn.com/why-did-we-close-the-asylums
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/29/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Midterm DOJ Hunger Games – US v. Alaska.” (10/29/26)
- Libertarian Angle, 10/29/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“The Horrors and Fallacies of Socialism.” (10/29/26)
- Nonzero, 10/29/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“Is Nathan Fielder a Creep? | Robert Wright & Paul Bloom.” (10/29/26)
- Politics Politics Politics, 10/29/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“My FINAL Midterm Predictions: Blue Wave, or Blue Tsunami? (with Reese Gorman).” (10/28/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/my-final-midterm-predictions-blue
- Underthrow Podcast, 10/29/26
Source: Underthrow
“We Must Become a Hybrid of Jesus and Nietzsche.” (10/29/26)
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 10/29/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“CENTCOM Chief Briefs Trump on Bombing Iran, Hegseth Fires Top Pentagon War Planner, and More.” (10/29/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 10/29/26
Sourc: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“With Midterms Looming, True Cost Of Iran War Explodes…” (10/29/260
- The Economics of It, 10/29/26
Source: Cato Institute
“The Economics of Kalshi.” (10/29/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/economics-it/economics-kalshi
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 10/29/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump-Vivek Ad Ploy Backfires as GOPers Leak Humiliating Private Poll.” (10/29/26)
- After October 7, 10/29/26
Source: Quillette
“The anonymous chronicler of the Islamic State’s occupation talks to Pamela Paresky about growing up under Saddam, the 1941 Farhud, and why he believes antisemitism unites every jihadist movement.” (10/29/26)
https://quillette.com/2026/10/28/how-one-historian-exposed-isis-from-inside-mosul-dr-omar-mohammed/
- The Headlines, 10/29/26
Source: New York Times
“At Least 68 Killed in Spain Train Crash, and Democrats’ Secret Effort to Stack Alaska’s Ballot.” (10/29/26)
- Bill Buppert on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Scott interviews Bill Buppert about Iran, the defense industry, the geopolitical delusions of the West, how evolving weapons technology will shape the next few decades and more.” (10/29/26)
https://scotthorton.org/interviews/10-23-26-bill-buppert-on-iran-ukraine-and-modern-militarism/
- Politico Playbook Audio Briefing, 10/29/26
Source: Politico
“Moderates put the left on notice.” (10/29/26)
- Advisory Opinions, 10/29/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Bringing Charges Against the President’s Political Enemies.” (10/29/26)
- The Watch Podcast, episode 2
Source: The Watch
“An interview with Scott Colom.” (10/29/26)
https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/the-watch-podcast-episode-2-an-interview
- The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen, 10/29/26
Source: The Blessings of Liberty with Jeffrey Rosen
“Until the Last Yoke Is Broken: The Constitutional Vision of Frederick Douglass.” (10/29/26)
https://rosenjeffrey.substack.com/p/until-the-last-yoke-is-broken-the
- Serious Trouble, 10/29/26
Source: Serious Trouble
“Federal prosecutors purport to charge James Comey, again; Cassidy Hutchinson wins a no-bill; Hasan Piker sues Scott Jennings.” (10/29/26)
- Pink Flame of Liberty, 10/28/26
Source: Pink Flame of Liberty
“The Midterm DOJ Games – US v. Alaska.” (10/28/26)
- Parallax Views w/ JG Michael, 10/29/26
Source: Parallax Views w/ JG Michael
“UFOs, High Strangeness, and the Excluded Middle w/ Red Pill Junkie.” (10/29/26)